There's a local airfield, about thirty miles from our house, called The Flying Circus Aerodrome. They have regular shows featuring vintage aircraft, but yesterday they had their once-a-year hot air balloon event. It was a great chance to get out of the house and an opportunity to try out my new DMC-FZ28.

We arrived late in the afternoon, after the show, but in time to see the balloons launched. Before the balloons, they gave rides in the old airplanes to paying customers. This gave me lots of opportunities to shoot the old airplanes in flight.

We were there for about two and a half hours, and for all that time the sun was coming from the other side of the field, creating a backlit situation. The French call this "contre-jour," but I call it a pain. Most of the time, I left the camera on spot metering, so I could select which part of the picture needed the most detail. I used the AF/AE LOCK button to hold the exposure once I had it set. This is probably the best way to handle a contrasty backlit situation, and the results showed that this was the right approach.

I used the FZ28's LCD monitor and the Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) as well. The LCD monitor worked very well in sunlight, thanks in part to the new setting that automatically brightens the LCD when the light gets bright. Although I hadn't been too thrilled with the FZ28's EVF, it proved to be quite usable. How well did the FZ28 perform? What do you think?

This is Rick. He's one of the pilots. Looks like he enjoys his work.

A little bit of vintage engine porn.

This guy had a bigger camera than me. How sharp is the FZ28's lens? His college ring says Virginia Polytech, 1981.

Self portrait in a shiny propeller.

A future wing walker hones her skills.

A budding pilot is quite serious.

Self portrait in a shiny wheel fairing.

Preflighing the aircraft.

Takeoff

If you take an aerobatic ride, this is what you see when the plane is upside down